There are concerts, and then there are rock ‘n’ roll coronations. On Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, one of the greatest bands in history, The Who, brought its The Song Is Over farewell tour to a roaring peak in the hills above the Los Angeles Basin. The Bowl has seen legends come and go, but few have matched the electricity of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, two octogenarians who have refused to go quietly.

Together, they reminded a packed house of how and why The Who rewrote the playbook for live rock, courtesy of a powerful and wistful victory lap that was heavy with history and humor, and an affirmation that their music still speaks in the present tense.

Before Pete and Roger stepped out, the crowd was already buzzing thanks to a scintillating and surprise-filled opening set from The Joe Perry Project. The band was nothing short of stacked, with Perry, the Aerosmith guitarist, at the helm, Brad Whitford on guitar, drummer Jason Sutter (who filled in for Stone Temple Pilots’ Eric Kretz while he attended to a family emergency) and bassist Robert DeLeo holding down the rhythm section, Buck Johnson on keys, and Chris Robinson (of The Black Crowes) lending vocals. They tore through “Let the Music Do the Talking” and Black Crowes favorite “Twice as Hard”, then dug deep into Aerosmith cuts like “Combination” and “Last Child”.

But it was the guest appearances that had the Bowl shaking. First, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash appeared to lend his legendary guitar to a searing rendition of “Mama Kin”. Then, as if to one-up that moment, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler himself swaggered out to join Perry on “Walk This Way” and “Train Kept A-Rollin’”.

The surprise Aerosmith reunion (more or less) was scrappy, raw, and loud, turning the set into a raucous rock revival. Tyler even teased a new Aerosmith single with YUNGBLUD, out now, but it was his raspy screams and harmonica wails that had the audience primed for what came next.

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When The Who finally walked onstage, the crowd roared like it was 1975 all over again. Townshend, Daltrey, and company opened with “I Can’t Explain” and “Substitute”, those early Mod anthems still bristling with youth.

Townshend—part guitar windmill, part raconteur—worked double duty as both riff machine and master of ceremonies. After “See Me, Feel Me”, he joked about the old days: “We’d play this long enough until people stood up, even the ones glued to their seats. Looks like you’re already up… maybe save it for Friday.” Daltrey shot back, “We should be sitting down.” The banter landed like two brothers sparring in front of 17,000 of their closest friends.

The setlist was a living history of rock. “Pinball Wizard”, “Behind Blue Eyes, “Eminence Front”, and a snarling “My Generation”, during which Roger broke the song down, rebuilt it with the fury of someone half his age, and mixed in bits of “Cry If You Want” for good measure.

Townshend took the mic to introduce “Going Mobile” (with brother Simon Townshend handling vocals) before steering into the Quadrophenia portion of the show with “The Real Me”, “I’m One” (with Roger on harmonica), and a pounding “5:15”.

But the knockout blows came late: “Love Reign O’er Me”, on which Daltrey’s high notes soared like a cathedral bell, had Pete shaking his head mid-song and blurting, “That voice f—ing blows my mind.” Then, came “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, with Roger pacing like a prizefighter before unleashing that iconic scream, still seismic after more than 60 years. His voice, at 81 years old, was nothing short of astonishing, cutting through the Hollywood night air with clarity and power. If anyone out there tracks vocal performances by singers his age, Daltrey’s would rightly rank among the very best on record.

The catharsis bled straight into “Baba O’Riley,” with violinist Katie Jacoby sawing away while Daltrey blew the harmonica, the Bowl transformed into a teenage wasteland for one more night.

After “The Song Is Over”, Pete and Roger closed with “Tea & Theatre”, just the two of them: Townshend strumming an acoustic, Daltrey singing sweetly with a cup of tea in hand. It was intimate, fragile, and utterly fitting—a curtain call from two men who spent their lives breaking amplifiers and expectations, now content to bow out with grace.

The Song Is Over Tour is a farewell, but not a funeral. It’s a testament to The Who’s stamina, and a last chance to see Daltrey and Townshend prove that age has only sharpened their defiance. For nearly two hours, they reminded the audience why they’re called one of the greatest live acts in rock history: not because they survived, but because they still burn.

The tour continues with stops in Mountain View, CA (9/21), Vancouver, B.C. (9/23), Seattle, WA (9/25), and Las Vegas, NV (9/28) before concluding in Palm Desert, CA on October 1st.

After that, the long arc of The Who may finally settle, but the echoes of Daltrey’s roar and Townshend’s windmill from the Bowl will hang in the canyon air for a long, long time.

Below, view a selection of photos from The Who and The Joe Perry Project (with special guests Steven Tyler and Slash) at the Hollywood bowl via PHOTOG.